You can't drive ... 45

Lake Shore Drive so holey, officials keep speed limit at 40 mph

April 08, 2008|By Chicago Tribune

To heck with a Hummer, a lunar rover is what's needed to navigate North Lake Shore Drive.

The eruption of potholes along the scenic boulevard is so bad this year that transportation officials are taking the unprecedented step of keeping the winter's 40 mph speed limit in place, instead of the breezy 45 mph allowed during spring and summer.

Officials on Monday said it's simply not safe to drive faster on the road in its condition. (Though many drivers try.)

"We continue to monitor the drive and may adjust the speed later," said Brian Steele, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Respite from the bone-rattling ordeal could be several weeks away as short-term repairs aren't expected to begin for at least a month. The long-term situation may not improve until the governor and state lawmakers come to terms on a new capital spending plan to rehab crumbling infrastructure in Illinois.

Which leaves drivers plodding down a road in ruin.

Cindy Schnoll of Lincoln Park said she gets nervous every time she is forced to take Lake Shore with her two young daughters in the car.

"It's bad," she said. "People are swerving in and out trying to get away from [potholes]."

Phil Strong of Uptown, who got a flat tire last week on Lake Shore near Irving Park Road, found no comfort in the city's decision. He thinks they should just fix the road.

"I think they take their good ol' sweet time," added Strong, 68.

The raising and lowering of the speed limit is a seasonal ritual peculiar to Lake Shore Drive.

In November, officials lower the speed limit to reduce the amount of road salt that vehicles spray onto vegetation in the median planters, officials said.And every April, without fail, the official but widely ignored speed limit on North Lake Shore gets bumped up by 5 mph.

Of course, some see the annual change of the speed limit as a bit of a charade.

"It doesn't really make a difference," said local driver Chris Fortier, 36, "because people tend to drive over the speed limit."

Currently, the worst section by far is roughly from Foster Avenue to around Irving Park.

As northbound drivers near Montrose Avenue, they can't drive 8 feet in any of the four lanes without coming up on a pothole -- and going in one. Southbound, the pavement takes on the appearance of a patchwork quilt -- and it has the ridability of a washboard -- when approaching Lawrence. Charcoal-colored sections mark the site of recent repairs.

City officials have been hounding the state since late 2006 -- with no results -- to fund a resurfacing project for this stretch, estimated to cost between $1 million and $5 million.

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Rough stuff

The Chicago Department of Transportation filled more than 800 potholes on Lake Shore Drive between Foster Avenue and Irving Park Road from December through this month, spokesman Brian Steele said, adding that crews returned to the area about 70 times.